China and Pakistan today signed eight agreements, including a whopping USD 18 billion deal to build a 200 km-long strategic tunnel through the rugged
PoK, as the two all-weather allies sought to boost economic ties and supply critical oil to the energy-hungry Communist giant.

Pakistan reiterated that friendship with China was the cornerstone of its foreign policy, enjoying a national consensus and appreciated the
support and assistance of the Chinese government and people for Pakistan's sovereignty and socio-economic development.

"Pakistan will continue to adhere to its one-China policy, oppose Taiwan and Tibet's independence and support China's efforts in combating the
"Three Evils" of extremism, terrorism and separatism. We regard ETIM as our common threat and stand united in combating this menace," Sharif
said.

Concerns over security could hinder China’s ambitious plans to build a road and rail network and economic corridor from the western Xinjiang region
to Pakistan, a Chinese official has said.

The corridor envisages improving road links from Xinjiang to Pakistan, including expanding and bolstering the Karokaram Highway, as well as
building railway lines and pipelines from Kashgar in Xinjiang to the Gwadar Port on the Arabian Sea, which could open up a much-needed alternative
route for energy imports.

China’s growing concerns over security in Pakistan, in the wake of recent kidnapping threats to workers, have also slowed down other
infrastructure projects executed by Chinese companies in the country. Analysts say China’s investments in the country have, as a result, not kept
pace with the often lofty rhetoric hailing “all-weather” relations.

Only a day after Ms. Lin’s note of caution, Xiong Lixin, vice-president of Sinohydro, one of China’s biggest hydropower companies, was quoted as
saying Chinese workers had to be escorted to construction sites in Pakistan in helicopters by armed guards.

A senior geologist has warned that Karachi and some fast growing cities of Makran division, including Gwadar, Pasni and Ormara, are facing the threat
of tsunami and can experience inundation because of it. Talking to Dawn, Dr Din Mohammad Kakar of the University of Balochistan’s geology department
said the situation required urgent attention.

He said in case of a tsunami the inundation could be 20-30 metres high with run-up to 1-5km in the Makran low land coastal region which would not
be less than those of tsunami that hit Indonesia in 2004.

“The port cranes are almost ready, and we are thinking that the port will be (at) full operation by the end of this year,” said Zhang Baozhong,
chairman and CEO of China Overseas Ports Holding Company Ltd.

In addition to the port, CPEC will include transport infrastructure, oil pipelines, powerplants and industrial zones totaling to nearly $50
billion. Gwadar is slated to become the receiving terminal for the materials for these projects, which are of major strategic importance to China:
combined, they will connect Kashgar to the Arabian Sea, and – if the initial statements of Pakistani defense officials are still valid – will
provide China with a well-developed naval base just 350 miles from the Strait of Hormuz.

How will Gwadar become a world-class port city without a fresh water supply? A drought-like situation has hit the Gwadar city for the fourth time in
the last six years.

The nearby Akara dam has dried up. The dam was built in 1995 when the plans for Gwadar’s future were not in the works. Moreover, there were
serious planning errors in that as well. The water reservoir for the dam was expected to be over 17,000 acres. Instead, it is now only 6,000 acres.
Mirani Dam, which is located a little further away, has been beset by its own problems after it was opened in 2005. Water was being transported from
the Mirani Dam reservoir via tankers to Gwadar. This was not enough.

It has been decades since successive governments have been looking for a way to cash in on the rich potential of its location. But it is its
location that makes it extremely vulnerable to a water crisis.

The government may not like it or acknowledge it, but it is inevitable that a city without water supply cannot grow into one of the leading trade
hubs in the world. This is an issue that needs serious attention.

Showing grave concern over the killing of Sindhi labourers in Gwadar earlier this month, leaders and intellectuals from Sindh and Balochistan gathered
at Haider Manzil on Saturday to condemn the act of terrorism and demonstrate solidarity with the aim of unmasking the elements behind the attack
together.

“It is sad that Sindhis, despite having so much industry in Sindh, have to go to Balochistan to earn a livelihood. Balochistan these days is a
battlefield. It is a dangerous territory,” he added.

Coming to the subject of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), he said it will turn the people of Balochistan into a minority. “We
Balochs are few in number anyway and there are the other workers there being brought from everywhere, not to mention when the Chinese too would flock
here in huge numbers. It will just make the indigenous people of Balochistan become invisible,” he said.

“You should know that CPEC is impossible without Balochistan and its city of Gwadar but see how the people of this city are struggling for basic
necessities such as drinking water,” said Mengal.

Residents of Gwadar Friday blocked Coastal Highway to protest against authorities for their failure to ensure smooth supply of water and power.

According to reports, the people of port city took to the Coastal Highway and blocked it for hours against unabated loadshedding and acute shortage of
water. The officials concerned reached the demo site and assured the protesters of resolving the issue as soon as teams from Quetta will arrive to fix
‘some technical electricity fault’. Baloch nationalist parties took a swipe at the government for their failure to fix problems plaguing the port
city. The locals lashed out at authorities for ignoring them.

The port city of Gwadar remained shut against long and unannounced power outages amid extremely hot weather and shortage of drinking water on
Tuesday.

The shutterdown strike call was given by the leaders of all political parties and traders of Gwadar as a result of which the city came to a grinding
halt.

All bazaars, shops, business centres, markets and shopping plazas remained closed against unannounced outages and water crisis in Gwadar and other
adjoining areas.

According to a leader of the All Parties Alliance, Uzair Baloch: “An amount of over Rs100 billion has been spent on different projects in
Gwadar, yet its residents are made to take to the streets and shut down the city just to seek water and power.”

A local political leader, Saeed Ahmad Baloch, said: “We have been told that Gwadar is going to become next Dubai, Singapore or Hong Kong but we are
at a loss not to find water or electricity at our homes.”

The warships - Chang Chun, Jing Zhou and Chao Hu - of the People's Liberation Army Navy are part of a task group that will hold a Passage Exercise
with the Pakistan Navy ships to enhance interoperability, officials in Karachi said.

Experts believe that CPEC and the Gwadar Port would enhance military capabilities of both China and Pakistan, and increase the Chinese navy's
access to the Arabian Sea. Having a naval base in Gwadar could also allow Chinese vessels to use the port for repair and maintenance of their fleet in
the Indian Ocean region.

India has objected to the CPEC - which is a part of China's ambitious Belt and Road intiatiave - as it runs through Gilgit and Baltistan region of
Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

Two Navy sailors were martyred and at least three others wounded when their vehicle was attacked the Jiwani area of Gwadar district on Monday.

The sailors were transporting iftar items during a routine run from Jiwani city when their vehicle was ambushed by four assailants on two motorbikes,
a senior local administration official told DawnNews.

"We will not bow down before the terrorists," Zehri said in his condemnation statement.

In May, at least 10 labourers were killed in Balochistan's Gwadar district when unidentified assailants opened fire at the construction site where
they were working, Levies sources said.

Multi-billion dollar projects of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in Gwadar are moving towards completion at a rapid pace, Minister of
State for Ports and Shipping Chaudhry Iqbal Jafri said.

The road from Gwadar port to Coastal Highway will be completed within one year while master plan of the zone is to be completed in December, he said
while talking to the media.

“Gwadar airport’s runway, the largest in Pakistan, will also be completed within a year while Gwadar Port is expected to receive its first major
cargo ship on October 18,” the minister claimed.

The Washington Free Beacon reported that China, which already owns the Gwadar Port in Gwadar Pakistan, is now growing the port to accommodate military
vessels. The nearby Gwadar International Airport is also being upgraded to allow military planes to take off and land.

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